BEAUMONT, Texas — As eight games remain in the regular season, Lamar University is currently tied for eighth place in the Southland Conference standings.

The Cardinals travel to Northwestern State on Wednesday before returning to McDonald Gym to host East Texas A&M on Saturday.
OFFENSIVE CATALYST: Maja Malinowska reached the 1,000-point milestone this season … Entering the match against Sam Houston needing five points to reach the mark, she recorded 11 points to raise her career total to 1,006 … She currently has 1,135.5 career points … Malinowska five kills away from reaching the 1,000-career-kill milestone … Chelsea Grant was the last Cardinal to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone, recording 1,100 career kills from 2013-16 … Malinowska ranks fifth in the Southland Conference with 238 kills and 269 points … Malinowska is second in the conference with 3.5 kills per set and 3.96 points per set … She ranks second on the team with 183 digs … She is also closing in on 1,000 career digs, needing 161 more to reach the milestone … Malinowska has recorded nine double-doubles this season and 40 in her career.

GETTING RECOGNIZED: Malinowska earned her fifth career Southland Conference Player of the Week honor after being named the league's Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28 ... She recorded 41 kills, 17 digs, two assists and two service aces across two matches while averaging 5.1 kills per set.

SETTING THINGS UP: Alexa Gonzalez joined the 2,000-assist club, recording 54 assists during the Lamar Invitational to increase her career total to 2,018 … She is the first Cardinal to reach the milestone since Haley Morton, who finished with 2,112 assists from 2015-17 … Gonzalez currently ranks 11th in program history with 2,168 career assists … Gonzalez leads the team with 361 assists and 19 service aces … She ranks eighth in the conference in service aces and ninth in assists.

PINPOINT SERVICE: Madelynn Coy and Katelyn Hughes are each tied for 10th in the conference with 18 service aces … Hughes also ranks second on the team with 323 assists and third in digs with 118.

BEST IN BELIZE: Nisaan Martinez ranks second on the team with 219 kills and 48 total blocks …  Martinez ranks eighth in the conference in kills and points with 246 points … She also ranks eighth in the league with 3.6 points per set.

BLOCKING THE OPPOSITION: Saida Maksoud leads the team with 52 total blocks and is 10th in the conference ... She is tied for ninth in the league with 46 block assists … As a team, Lamar ranks fourth in the conference in block assists with 213 and sixth with 133.5 total blocks.

GO, GABBY, GO: Gabby Baker ranks sixth in the Southland Conference with 310 digs and fifth in digs per set with 4.5 … Baker is 88 digs shy of reaching 1,000 for her career … Megan Schwartz is the last Cardinal to record 1,000 career digs, totaling 1,283 from 2010-14.

CONFERENCE OPENER: Lamar's sweep of LSU New Orleans marked the program's first conference-opening victory since Sept. 25, 2018, when the Cardinals defeated Incarnate Word in four sets at home.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Cardinals are looking to secure three consecutive winning seasons at home for the first time since 2008-10 … Lamar has already posted back-to-back winning home campaigns for the first time since 2014-15, compiling a 15-6 record during that span.

GOING THE DISTANCE: Head coach Ariel Apolinario is 8-6 in five-set matches during his three-year career and 12-6 all-time in four-set matches.
1. UT Rio Grande Valley 12-7 (8-0)
2. Southeastern 10-11 (7-1)
3. Stephen F. Austin 12-9 (6-2)
    Incarnate Word 8-9 (6-2)
5. Northwestern State 12-11 (4-4)
    McNeese 8-11 (4-4)
    A&M-Corpus Christi 6-13 (4-4)
8. East Texas A&M 9-12 (3-5)
    Lamar 6-15 (3-5)
10. Nicholls 9-12 (2-6)
11. Houston Christian 3-17 (1-7)
12. LSU New Orleans 2-19 (0-8)   CATCHING UP: Northwestern State finished its nonconference slate with an 8-7 record … The Demons have won two of their last three matches, defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in four sets and sweeping Nicholls … Northwestern State was swept by McNeese on Saturday, creating a three-way tie for fifth place.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Elsie Sanchez, So., OH (256 kills) | Olivia Nzioki, Fr., MB (217 kills | 71 total blocks) | Jade Longlad, Sr., S (723 assists | 21 service aces) | Emmarie McFarland, So., UTL (379 digs).

TIES TO LAMAR: Second-year head coach Ben Kaszeta has turned Northwestern State around … After going 1-29 overall in 2025, the Demons are 12-11 and have a chance to post their first winning season since going 19-13 in 2022 … Kaszeta served as an assistant coach at Lamar in 2024.
Lamar vs. Northwestern State: The Cardinals are 27-20 all-time against the Demons since the series began in 1982 … Lamar has swept the past two meetings, in 2024 and 2025, after dropping five straight in the series … Before 2024, Lamar's last victory over Northwestern State came in 2021.   CATCHING UP: The Lions have dropped four of their past five matches, with losses to Southeastern, A&M-Corpus Christi, UTRGV and McNeese … East Texas A&M snapped a four-match losing streak with a road sweep of Nicholls on Saturday … The Lions host SFA on Wednesday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ariana Brown, Sr., OH (271 kills | 34 service aces) | Haley Mullaney, Sr., S (451 assists | 30 service aces) | Sabine Wenzel, Fr., MB (72 total blocks) | Jade Washington, So., DS/L (389 digs).

RECAPPING LAST SEASON: The Lions finished 9-19 overall and 7-9 in conference play to secure the No. 8 seed in the conference tournament.
Lamar vs. East Texas A&M: This marks the seventh meeting between the programs since the series began in 2022 … The all-time series is tied 3-3 … Lamar has won the past two meetings, including a five-set road victory in 2025.